The room was filled with only the sound of a clock ticking, the atmosphere heavy. Crystal sighed, leaning her back against the sofa, feeling…..tired. Fatigued. She rubbed her face and groaned. She had always wondered if it was that the Gods just hated her. Or maybe she was given this kind of life out of pity? Was her life far better now with what she’s got?

She chuckled, but she knew inside she really just felt like screaming. Her hands trailed from her face to the top of her head, gripping onto her hair as she suddenly felt frustrated. Mad. Guilty maybe? Her feelings were too mixed up for her to even differentiate. ….She can’t know. She just can’t. My…..doings are justified. It is- it is!

Was immortality really real? And if so, was it really a blessing? She felt like it was rather a curse in disguise. For once in her life, she finally got to experience the true meaning of outliving a friend. ….it can’t….it just can’t…… It had been years, but still she wanted it to be a lie. A ‘fortune’ that was ‘fortold’ only to spook them. She didn’t want to outlive anyone…..she really didn’t.

Why would you want to live forever in a world that would have no worth to live? She…..she knew that she had even gotten that far only because of her sister. Now she didn’t even want to talk to her. The loath that seeped from her sister’s tears as she would glare at her, questioning her older sister’s action. “Why. Why did you do that?” her sister would ask, pained and confused with what happened.

But she had to. She just had to.

A hand trailed down to her neck, fondling her ‘precious’ pendant. She looked down at it as she held it up close to her eyes. A blue stone, tied to a golden chain. The stone itself was smooth. For some reason, it felt like as if the thing had betrayed her. What she had always thought to have kept them safe….

…got them into more danger than they could’ve ever gotten themselves into.

Her hair was brightly colored, with a random white streak in the front. It used to be a beautiful brown, however after having the amulet, she had suspected thast it was the cause of the change of her hair color. It was the same with her brother too.

….brother….

…heh, what a shame it was to call him brother.

She dropped her pendant and with a sigh looked around in the room. Her eyes trailed from the coffee table to the shiny screen of the TV, the shelf and finally, just the walls. Her eyes scanned through the pictures hung on the walls.

A certain picture frame caught her eye as she remembered the context behind it. It was a picture of her, Eliza and……

He was smiling……was that faked too?

She pondered of all their old memories they had together. Was it all a big act? Why? Why did he do it?

.

Eliza never forgave her.

.

She would never.

.

Would you forgive a murderer?

Her thoughts were interrupted as a knock sounded by the door. She jolted upright immediately, turnig her head towards the front door behind the sofa. Who could it be? The blinds were closed, she never bothered to open them as she got home, so she couldn’t see who was out there. Annoyed but curious as to who it was, she got up to open it.

---

“….?” She gave Chloe a look of question. Why….why is she here?

Chloe’s hair was a vibrant pink, tied into pigtails. She had dyed it after reuniting with Crystal and her sis and bro, and after being explained about their odd hair colors. She didn’t want them to feel odd. Most of their friends joined in on the hair dyeing thing.

She wore yellow overalls and a blue button shirt that day, with a noticeable basket of what appeared to be sweets by her legs.

“…..Heya, Crystal,” greeted Chloe, offering a smile. However, she wasn’t returned a smile at all. Only the same look of question. What are you doing here? I….I hate that name. “…..uhm….” she tilted her head a little, a little disappointed to see her friend depressed as she was then. She extended her arms instead, signaling for a…..hug? Crystal didn’t respond, however Chloe was insistent on the hug as she gave one to her anyway. “….h-how’s it goin’, pal? Have you been…..out?”

“….no.”

Chloe kept smiling, even more disappointed with that dead answer she had just given. “….come on, Crystal, cheer up. I….” she let go of the hug and reached for the goodie basket beside her. “…got you some goodies. Well not me, but Ben. He had a friend that came back from Tokyo with cool snacks, I’m sure you’ll wanna try some?.....”

“I…..” I don’t……I don’t want it…. I…. “….thanks,” was all that she said, eyeing the basket suspiciously but other than that was obviously uninterested. Chloe handed the basket over to Crystal, who hesitated at first but took it after.

“…….soooo……you plannin’ to go out? We’re planning to have a picnic by the falls- would you want to join?” she asked with a smile.

Crystal hesitated to answer. I don’t want to…… “I…., Chloe- is….Elizabeth coming?”

Chloe opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated at first. “……Eliza…..she said she wouldn’t be interested if you came along- but! But! I feel like maybe you need a break from the house and……you can spend time with your buddies without having to worry about anyone else?” she laughed nervously.

“I…..I don’t know, Chloe-“

“Michael said he would bring his new cupcake recipe for us all to try! Chocolatte surprise, huh?” she nudged her elbow against Crystal. “…..it isn’t a surprise anymore considering the title but- you have to admit it does sound good, doesn’t it?”

“……..”

“…think about it, Mia?” she finally said, giving her puppy eyes. “It’s not always that we can get together like this. I know you’re sad and you need time- but getting yourself cooped up isn’t helping. Please?”

Crystal looked down at the goodie basket, eyeing the packets of snacks labeled with words she couldn’t understand. She looked up to Chloe, who gave her hopeful eyes. “……got it, thanks for, uh, ya know, comin’ by.”

Chloe lit up at that response. “That’s what pals are for! I’ll let you think about it- call me if you need anything!” she said as she waved a goodbye and left, knowing that Crystal still needed time to process what happened.

Crystal entered the house once more and closed the door. Looking back down at the basket, she smiled. “…t-thanks, Chloe.”

---

She and her brother had always been fascinated by the wonders the universe hid. From magical spells to sci-fi, they tried their best to look through what they can. One of their proudest achievements was learning to travel to other dimensions. Their proudest invention- the warp pad.

It was a small tablet, however it had the ability to send them to places with only the click of a button.

She stood in the middle of her bedroom, holding the device in her palms as she contemplated where to go. She needed fresh air. She needed to roam for a bit. Take the edge off a little. Who knows- she might even start smoking a hookah with some gang of aliens. Whatever, she just needed to think of something else for once.

She had her satchel, filled with the goodies given by Chloe, her phone and some other stuff she was not bothered by.

She turned on the tablet, with its screen beginning to glow a fine blue. Scrolling through a bunch of codes, she thought of travelling somewhere she haven’t been before. With that, she swiped down as far as she could, eventually reaching untouched codes she could key in. !!!! her eyes read one of the codes, and she looked at it with confusion. Most of the codes she’s seen had been consisted of numbers like 466658 or 399786. Never had she seen such a code.

She was tempted to click it….however hesitated. It looked….off. Somehow. Instead, she just pinned the code for future research maybe. And she clicked a different code to key in. As she did, a message popped up asking for her confirmation. She sighed, looked around, and clicked confirm. From there, immediately a bright glow shined from the tablet, enveloping her with light, and from there she was teleported.

---

Her eyes opened as she took in the view and the…..familiar scent of alcohol. Along with the noisy crowd of people that went around there. The light faded as she lowered her arm that held the device. She examined the place.

She stood by some sort of walkway of a……tavern? Beside her immediately was the bar, with odd looking creatures drinking happily and caroling tunes. The bartender was just wiping mugs casually. Behind the bartender was a huge glass dispenser accompanied by several other smaller ones. She assumed it was what was considered beer maybe here? The liquid in it was a bright purple substance.

She jolted suddenly as she was surprised by the sudden loud thuds and laughter coming from another table. She turned her head to her left and saw creatures playing what appeared to be poker and gambling some fine looking chips. In the corner of the tavern was a jukebox, playing God knows what as it sounded horrendous. Imagine slapping a plate of mash potatoes and chewing on biscuits, along with a kid violently screaming and throwing a tantrum asking for the best and most expensive toy in Target, and you’ll get what I mean.

She backed up slightly as she tried to process wherever in the galaxy she was, and as she did she had accidentally stumbled into…some sort of wetness. She looked down to her shoes and saw that she had stepped in an odd puddle of some unidentifiable goo.

"....shit," she cursed as she raised her goo covered shoe. She looked around helplessly for a stallroom maybe, and was relieved when she saw what seemed to be it. Two doors with signs hanging on it, one with a picture of a donut and the other a…… “....aight then,” she stumbled hurriedly stumbled towards the donut door. Hopefully it was the right stallroom. Hopefully.

---

She managed to clean off the goop with a few tissues in one of the vacant stalls. She was relieved that it was empty. God forbid she actually did just enter the wrong stallroom and get caught. Or maybe not- who knows, it’s not possible they’ll know what gender a human even is.

"….it’ll do," she mumbled as she flushed the tissues down into the toilet and opened the door of her stall. When she came out however, she was taken aback as she noticed two creatures staring at her from the corner of the room. "...uh…..hi?” she said, rushing herself towards the sinks to wash up a bit.

She could see them from the stallroom mirrors, and they were undeniably still staring at her. She frowned, not knowing what their intentions were. She inspected them a little. The taller one’s skin was of a reptile, purple with a tint of blue. The shorter one also had the same type of skin, but instead had the color of orange with a tint of yellow.

As she rinsed off, she could hear a conversation unfold between the whoevers. “See? I told you it came into here!”

“What even is it?” the taller one whispered.

“Ain’t got no fucking clue! That’s why I called ya in!”

“We gonna get caught sooner or later lurkin’ in the ladies loo room….”

She frowned as she heard that. Perverts. She hurriedly washed her hands. She could hear them whispering even more quieter, following a sudden look of surprise on the shorter creature’s face. But the whispers continued anyway.

While drying her hands on her own clothes, she noticed from the mirror that the shorty started to walk up to her. Upon noticing that, she felt slightly uncomfortable. Maybe a little scared too. And her suspicions were confirmed as she jolted when he tapped her shoulders. She turned to face the creature slowly. “….uh….c-can I help you?”

“…” the Creature looked back himself to the tall friend of his, who gestured at him to go forward. The shorty looked back at Crystal. “…my- uhm- buddy, dared me to come and uh…..kiss you. You mind?”

...how fucking straight forward.

She looked at 'it', both disgusted and scared. "..uh….look, I’m sure there’s someone way more better to kiss than me- o-okay? I’ll be going now….” She tried to walk away but was stopped when he gripped her left arm, tight.

“W-wait- please?” he asked again.

This time, Crystal didn’t hesitate. “No!” she pulled her arm back. “Get lost, I’m not doing anything for a rando. What- he payin- you or something?”

“…50 quid,” he said. Crystal blinked.

“….boy, you’re trading your dignity for some flimsy quids here. I’m out,” she tried again tyo walk away, but was surprised when she felt his arms trying to hold her hips. “Wha-hey!” she tried to push him away but was met with only the stickiness of his body. “Eww!- WHAT THE FUCK!! GET OFF ME YOU FUCKER!” she kicked him in the stomach, which affected him greatly as he yowled in pain. She heard the other guy giggling from the corner of the room.

Desperately, she tried to ran- but again he tried. This time, he pulled on her leg as she tried to run, which tripped her. Taking chances, he towered over her on the floor, faces meeting. “L-look, I don’t wanna hurt you…”

“WHAT IN THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?!” she yelled as she spat into his face and finally kicking what she knew immediately was his groin as he yelped, his voice cracked and turning him into sounding like a little girl. He fell over, grasping his crotch in agony. She quickly ran into one of the stalls, took out her tablet and pressed onto a random code, not caring which one she had clicked. And confirmed.

"....f-fuckin'- OI! COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE-" she was immediately teleported.

---

Her eyes opened immediately, and was met with an….odd view. As she tried to scratch her head however, she noticed something even more odd. She felt so…..naked. So….fur. Fur….she looked down at herself….

"....whAT?!” she jumped, and as she tried to stand, she fell backwards. “H-holy!!-“ she raised her hands up…. “…G-GAH WHERE ARE MY HANDS?!” Stubs. “WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?!” Fur. “MY FWACE!!” She rubbed her face around as she felt her muzzle. It trailed all the way to….a horn? “….waHHh!!”

She was more concerned with how she looked like more than anything. Her eyes scanned the area for a lake or something to see her reflection in. Fortunately, not far away was a….murky puddle. Whatever, she quickly stumbled towards the puddle. Having stubs was a hard change for her, as she struggled to even walk and tripped at almost every step. Luckily the puddle wasn’t far, and as she got there she stared in surprise at the reflection she got.

Horn……hooves? Wings…..a weird butt tattoo in a shape of a music note. She turned to her own flank and was surprised. She then thought…..

She….she was a….pony?

She then looked around at the odd place she landed in. Fuck, traumatised by her friend's death, almost getting kissed by a weird turd and now turned into a possibly cute and adorable pony? How could this day get any worse.

She scanned her surroundings. Indeed, it was an odd place. Candy canes protruded from the ground as the roads were lined with giant Skittles apparently. She looked up into the sky and saw…odd and demented looking birds- flying upside down?! She could’ve also sworn she heard them moo. “….what is this?” The sky itself was pink and lined with…..

"....cotton candy?" She saw pink fluffy clouds floating above her, and as she saw a drop fall, she immediately gave way for it less she wanted to get soaked by….chocolate milk? She stuck her tongue out and let a drop fall onto her tongue. It…it was! “….holy shit, is this the Wonka factory?”

“I would like to be viewed as an original artist, Mr Wonka was a plageriser and that’s final, thank you,” said a mysterious voice suddenly, making her jump.

“Wh-what?! Who are you?” she looked around her, but was met with nothing. “….w-where are you?!”

"So many directions, so much time, what other directions have you missed?” the voice seemed to tease. “North, South, East, West- have you tried North West? Or South East maybe? Quite a dilemma.”

She finally realized where the voice was coming from. She panned up, and what she saw was….surprising.

It laid on the cloud, holding a cup of what appeared to be the chocolate milk the cloud produced. Mismatched legs, wings, arms, horns….those eyes! “…dear Lord what are you?”

“The better question is who are you?” the creature asked. “I’ve been alive for plenty of centuries but never have I seen another alicorn besides the star princesses and the love horse. What are you?”

“…A-alicorn?” she repeated the word. What’s an….alicorn?

"Well duh. What did you think you are, a zebra?" he said. He floated next to her. "Although, if that is a fantasy of yours then lucky for you, your wish could be fulfilled," he said as he trailed his talon along her body, stripes appearing following the trail.

“W-woah!!” she yelped in alarm, making him grin at the surprised and confused, maybe terrified reaction she gave. His gaze returned back to his beverage.

She gave a puzzled look as he drank the glass instead of the chocolate milk. "I know I’m rather charming but I really do want to know your name,” he asked, holding a solid chunk of chocolate milk apparently.

".... C-C-Crystal Miamori," she stammered, but cursing herself afterwards for stuttering.

"C-C-C-Crystal! What a m-m-m-marvelous name you got there! I’ll make my name like that too, D-D-Discord! L-L-Lord of Chaos! How fun this is!” he mocked her. His eyes trailed down to her pendant suddenly. “….so what’s that thing around your neck, is-is it some lucky charm or some cursed amulet? Whatever it is it gives me the heeby jeebys- huurghh!” he shivered all over.

She looked down to her pendant. It caught his eye apparently? “…u-uh….w-what’s that on your….arm?! …..uh…..bye!” she said suddenly and ran off, leaving Discord staring at her in confusion as she did. She ran towards some forest of candied trees in the distance. When she got far enough, or well- when she could look behind and not see the thing anymore, she hurriedly dipped her hooves into what became now a saddlebag? And pulled out her warp pad. As she took it out and tried to turn it on, it suddenly announced a message.

“-Low Battery, Power Off-”

“Oh no- not now!!” she exclaimed abruptly but caught herself in case he heard. However she couldn’t help but feel frustrated at that point! She should’ve charged it fully before she left home. Her efforts to silence herself came too late, as again his voice boomed in the distance.

"How rude of you! Running off while we were having such a pleasant conversation……" said Discord, his snake-like body coiled on the tree branch above. "And Celestia said I'm the immature one..." She tried to run away, but tripped on a branch along the way, face planting into dirt. "What's the hurry? The fun just started!" he said, as a burst of confetti came out of nowhere.

She turned onto her back to face him, and stammered. "...y-you don't scare me..." she said, glaring at him.

His grin widened. "Oh, but you should be," he said as his face started contorting and leaning towards her. His eyes shined a bright red as his ‘sharp’ teeth shimmered. "The big bad Discord is feared by everypony, and if you don't fear him, something bad might happen, muahahahah......" he laughed, mockingly and obviously impersonating the cliché villain laugh from movies.

“I…..I’m not scared! I just….need to go home……” she said, although her eyes closed for a moment when he tried to scare her previously.

He turned back to normal after that remark. "…hmm. Welp, so sad. I would help you, but I just have so much chaosing to do! Maybe later, see you soon, ta-ta!" he said finally, snapping his talon and enveloped himself in a white flash. She covered her eyes as it shone bright.

She slowly lowered her hooves as she watched the light fade, and he disappeared. ".....I didn't say I needed your help anyway….” She mumbled. She looked around again, and sighed.

Just where was she?

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Exhibit A Estimated time remaining: 58 Minutes